Virginia Supreme Court Keeps Redistricting Referendum Blocked
Virginia's top court kept redistricting certification blocked on April 28, leaving in place a Tazewell County judge's order that stopped the state from certifying last week's referendum results. The appeal, brought by Jay Jones, did not change the ruling that froze the vote on a Democratic-drawn congressional map.
Tazewell County order stands
Last Wednesday, the county judge ruled the referendum illegal and barred state officials from certifying the results. Jay Jones, Virginia's Democratic state attorney general, appealed that ruling, but the Virginia Supreme Court left the order in place. The court has not reached a final decision in any of the three lawsuits Republicans have filed challenging the ballot measure.
Last week's referendum passed on a map designed to flip four Republican U.S. House seats. If the measure stands, Democrats would hold the advantage in 10 of Virginia's 11 U.S. House of Representatives districts in November's midterm elections. Democrats now hold a 6-5 edge in the state's House delegation.
Three lawsuits, one stalled result
The ruling came in one Republican National Committee lawsuit, while the Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in another case over whether Democrats met legal requirements when they started the referendum. Jones' appeal did not unlock certification, so the vote remains in legal limbo even as the court continues to hear separate challenges to the same map.
The friction in Virginia is part of a wider redistricting battle that began last summer when President Donald Trump pushed Texas Republicans to install a new congressional map targeting five Democratic incumbents. Other Republican-led and Democratic-led states followed. Florida now appears to be the final state preparing to redraw districts ahead of November, with Republican lawmakers set to vote Wednesday on a map drawn by Governor Ron DeSantis' office that is intended to flip four Democratic seats.
Florida and the House count
If Virginia's referendum stays blocked and Florida's effort succeeds, Republicans would gain around seven seats after the redistricting arms race. That would shape the fight for a House majority, since Democrats need to flip three Republican-held seats to take control and end Republican unified control of Washington.
The immediate effect for Virginia is simpler: the new map cannot move forward yet, and the state's 11 House districts remain under the old political arithmetic while the lawsuits continue. The next step is the Virginia Supreme Court's unresolved decisions in the remaining cases, which will determine whether the referendum can ever be certified.
